


Another Adventure

by SpuffyCarrie



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Birthday Party, Birthday Sex, Complete, Draco Malfoy's Birthday, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, False Accusations, Loving Marriage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:33:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24555478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpuffyCarrie/pseuds/SpuffyCarrie
Summary: It’s Draco’s 40th Birthday and all is not as rosy in the Malfoy household as it might appear at first glance. Hermione thinks Draco is having an affair and is going through some personal troubles of her own. All he wants to do is find her and tell her how much he loves her but it's not quite that easy…A 2 chapter unbeated short story, the second part will be posted tomorrow.Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable music, characters, settings, pictures etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Comments: 14
Kudos: 116





	1. Chapter 1

  
“At twenty years of age, the will reigns; at thirty, the wit; and at forty, the judgement.”  
Benjamin Franklin

…

The trouble with tradition was it quickly became so you were always expected to do the same thing year upon year — as it had been for Draco's birthday for the past twenty years and so it would continue until they were long gone, Hermione supposed. 

The first tradition began when Draco gifted Hermione jewellery on his nineteenth birthday, a rare antique book the next year, alternating each year and he would never tell her why. The second year they were together during the lead up to his birthday, Hermione could be found travelling via international portkey to seek out rare plants for his gift as he worked hard in his potions lab, filling orders for his world-famous Apothecary business. He was so delighted by each offering, she continued to do the same every year, that particular gift swiftly becoming a Malfoy tradition. 

The third custom was their summer garden party with family and friends, where they gave Draco his gifts and held spectacular fireworks especially designed by George Weasley. It was a highly anticipated highlight of the year for everyone. Draco was lucky to be born in June, on the cusp of summer and not long before the summer solstice. 

The highlight for Hermione this year was their son, Scorpius, returning home with his wife Anika and their daughter in tow. Three-year-old Cassie loved to spend time crawling over Draco, whooping as he rolled on the grass with her, or slung her up onto his shoulders. He thought Hermione didn't notice him slyly sliding their granddaughter far too many sweets, causing her to run riot on a sugar high with Harry and Ron's children. Perhaps that was another tradition, she wondered. She told him off afterwards as she worried about Cassiopeia's teeth, but would never mention it at the time. She didn't want to be seen as a spoilsport or the horrid grandparent when Draco was the easy going, loveable one.

Draco would always play falsely humble with a barely disguised smirk afterwards while she lectured him on the damage sugar could do to teeth, although she was of the opinion he liked her scolding him as he always took her to bed and make rampant love to her like he was still nineteen. She smiled at those memories. Draco Malfoy had a way of astonishing her with his passion and she wanted him as badly after all these years. 

This year he'd turned forty and was strangely apathetic, unlike Hermione who'd grumbled about her own fortieth birthday for weeks, or even months, before. She once again found herself staring into the mirror, exploring every aspect of her body for wrinkles and signs of ageing. She kept herself in good shape, often duelling with Harry and Ron, plus jogging the estate every morning, as did Draco, taking off ahead of her gleefully with his long legs giving her the most appealing view of his tight arse. She was always busy and rarely sat, so why was time marching across her body with the intention of doing the utmost damage? It was very unfair. 

She knew she had lost the bloom of youth long ago, but although her mother in law, Narcissa, told her frequently she had grown into a beautiful woman, she wasn't sure whether to believe her. Regardless, she sighed at the thought of her husband. He'd aged like a fine wine, growing more handsome by the year. He was incredibly sexy, with rock hard abs from regular running and Quidditch training and still retained his perfect white-blonde hair, unlike her. She found herself regularly pulling out any stray grey hair which grew in at the side of her head with a charm she’d discovered from Witch Weekly. She was a grandmother and she often wondered if Narcissa looked better than her as a great-grandmother, with her white steak the only indicator of age. Narcissa never seemed to change. She certainly had all the grace and beauty she'd always had, a slim waist and smooth skin. Perhaps it was a pureblood thing or even Black family trait? Hermione felt jealous that she wasn't going to grow old so gracefully like her mother in law. 

A few months down the line, and days before his birthday, she noticed Draco beginning to act strangely. He disappeared for hours on end and mumbled when she asked him where he'd been, swiftly changing the subject and rushing away. If she didn't know him better, she'd think he was having an affair. His affection towards her never waned, but she knew something was going on. With over twenty years of knowledge and interest in pureblood custom, she knew some pureblood wizards were often unfaithful or lost interest in their wives, taking on a mistress, which apparently, was their right as part of the marriage contract. She tried to push it to the back of her mind but couldn't quite repel the worry of losing him, she knew Pureblood heirs historically had no qualms about taking on a mistress. She loved him but she didn't own him, she just hoped she still held his heart as he held hers. 

To keep herself busy she sent out the invitations for Draco's birthday event and prepared the menu, looking forward to an evening of fun, even if she knew her husband wasn't quite as excited as her to celebrate. 

She spent some time in quiet reflection, leafing through her latest pile of books and wondering if she'd become too boring for him, or wiping back tears over the children she'd once hoped for and which never came, however much they tried. She'd had everything once and now she was uncertain of her place now she was forty and their son had left home. All she could hope to do was bear her husband’s wandering eye with some grace and hope she could hide her broken heart. 

.....

While dressing for the party, Draco felt Hermione barely glance in his direction, she seemed out of sorts. Twenty-one years had passed, and she often forgot how well he knew her. They'd married just before his twentieth birthday and had her charming meddling to thank for that. After his trial, she became good friends with his mother and visited the Manor regularly. He remembered the day vividly when she walked into his bedroom, picked up the bottle of fire whiskey he was downing in copious amounts and told him to pull his socks up. It was the day of his nineteenth birthday, and he was moping like he'd done every day since he was cleared of all charges. A tentative friendship had developed into a torrid love affair, which led to marriage later that same year, one that many hated, and nobody thought would last. He'd loved her since the day she stormed into his room, berating him like an avenging goddess — or long before that if he were honest with himself. He remembered peering at her while she took tea in the solarium with his mother, lurking in the shadows outside the room as she tossed her hair and laughed at his mother’s memories of him as a small child. From that day his heart was lost to the bookish girl with the tinkling laughter, whether he deserved her or not. 

She dressed in the most beautiful floor-length gown, midnight blue with inserts cut into the bodice, it was cut low over her breasts, she wore her hair a little shorter nowadays and she had charmed it into brunette and cinnamon curls, trailing over the tanned skin of her shoulders. If he had time, he'd shag her over her dressing table and make her moan in the most delightful way, but alas there wasn't the time as their guests were arriving. 

With glittering skirts and diamante heels, Hermione felt somewhat like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, except they weren’t red, and she had no need to go home, this was her home. She'd never leave, whatever happened with Draco and his mystery woman. Clipping the diamond bracelet on her wrist Draco had given her on his first birthday they were together, she opened her jewellery case, pausing for a moment, her fingers drifting over the diamond cut teardrop pendant he’d gifted her last year. She briefly thought of the young girl from Hampstead who wore jeans, hoodies and trainers, a girl who had never dreamed of the Wizarding world, let alone being the lady of a Manor who owned such wonderful clothes or jewels, had such a gorgeous husband or who would eventually become a grandmother. 

Life had been perfect with Draco from the birth of Scorpius during the first year of their marriage. They'd been so very young but yet seemed to take naturally to parenthood. It was happiness they both desperately needed, and she could sob as she thought of Draco rocking Scorpius to sleep, he’d been so patient and so involved with their son’s upbringing. Hermione started her career a year after as Headmistress of the first primary school for magic, it was the only school at the time to accept both muggleborns and those born into the wizarding world and had been financed by between the Ministry and the Malfoy fortune, another of Draco’s gifts to her. It had been a test when the purebloods arrived from families who'd been ruined during the war, but she'd managed to help raise those children into a tolerant world, her best achievement, sending well-adjusted magical children to Hogwarts. Headmistress McGonagall had been so grateful for her help that they'd become good friend’s. Minerva would be in attendance tonight, with many of the professors and teaching staff from her school. Their only child, Scorpius, had attended her school once he came of age and made great friends, including their lovely daughter in law, Anika, who he eventually married and who gave the Malfoy line its first daughter ever. She was also pregnant with their next child, something Hermione had never managed. She doubted herself again and questioned if she'd failed Draco in some way by not giving him a daughter as well as a son, or even another son. Her fingers were shaking slightly as they hovered over the gem. 

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong, princess?" Draco drew up behind her, smoothing his hands over her hips and planting a gentle kiss on her bare shoulder. He reached over to remove the delicate necklace from the case, lifting it between his thumb and forefinger, opening the clasp and placing it over her décolletage, trailing the gold chain over her neck as he secured it safely. He placed a hand on her shoulder, caressing her collarbone with his thumb as he watched her in the mirror. 

"Nothing." She lied, her eyes meeting his and promptly flicking away. If she let his eyes draw her in, then she'd be lost in them like always. She couldn't think when he looked at her that way. "I'm just nervous about the party, you know how I get about these things." She rushed away, picking up her black silk wrap, quickly heading to the bedroom door. She paused for a moment, nibbling her lips, then called over her shoulder. "Happy Birthday darling, I'll see you downstairs."

He watched with a frown as she almost ran away, he knew how easily that big brain of hers started coming up with answers that weren't there. But what she was mulling over this time, he couldn't be certain. 

The floorboards creaked and Narcissa stepped into the room, standing behind him. "Are you certain she'll leave?" 

"Not at all, she's the most infuriating witch I've ever known." He replied, staring at his mother’s reflection in the mirror. 

"Very well, I'll leave it to you." She nodded with a wan smile, her walking stick clacking down the corridor in her wake. He dreaded this moment as he thought he'd done the wrong thing. He checked his slicked-back hair one final time and turned to follow them downstairs. 

.....

Hermione felt uneasy as she embraced Scorpius and Anika, almost bursting into tears as Cassie threw herself into her arms calling out 'Nana'. She gave her granddaughter a huge hug and peppered her face with kisses. 

"Mum, are you alright?" Scorpius asked, his grey eyes scanning her face in the same way Draco did when he thought something was wrong. 

"I''m fine sweetheart, we're going to have such a good time tonight. Your grandmother has been tending the gardens for months in preparation. Her Wiltshire white roses are the best in the county." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheeks. "I love you, darling." She smiled until she looked upwards at Draco standing on the stairs and quickly kissed Anika, clutching her hand affectionately and placing a careful hand on her belly before she moved away to greet other guests. 

Scorpius brooded for a moment over his mother’s exit, his thoughtful look distracted by his daughter, tottering dangerously towards an antique vase. He grabbed her before she upturned it, lifting her into the air and blowing raspberries on her belly as she squealed with laughter. The vase had been broken twice by him as a child and repaired magically by his mother without his father’s knowledge. He grinned at the memory as he threw his daughter over his shoulder, took Anika's hand and they headed into the crowd to seek out more friends and family. 

Draco stood on the stairs and proudly watched both Scorpius, Anika and Cassie interact with Hermione. He felt his gut twist with concern when his wife flinched as she saw him. He descended the stairs, baffled when she rushed away again before he could capture her hand and ask her if she was okay. Usually, they greeted their guests together, it was a family tradition and he felt out of sorts by not being at her side. Without her there, it felt like all order had left his life. 

He took a glass of champagne from the tray of a passing waiter and drank it down, replacing it swiftly and drinking another. He didn't know what he'd done to upset Hermione, but he was going to make it right. Pressing on, he lost sight of her and found a fire whiskey shoved into his hand. 

"Draco, you old git!" Blaise slung and arm around his shoulder, "Come and see Theo, he's desperately in love." He smirked, walking him over to the old Slytherin crew who stood in the entrance to the drawing-room. 

Theo was placing a kiss on Hermione's hand and looked up like a frightened rabbit. Draco raised an eyebrow, "It’s been over twenty years since your crush on her Theo, for sweet Salazar's sake, can you not leave my wife alone?" 

"Why don't you leave him alone, darling," Pansy, kissed Draco's cheek as she intervened, kissing Theo on the cheek and then Hermione too, "he is on a promise, I'm wearing underwear from France. He'll be waiting desperately to reveal it." She giggled, taking Draco's arm. 

Draco noted Hermione’s glance at Pansy's fingers gripping him. She left the group as quickly as was appropriate and began chatting with Harry with a look of relief, whispering something desperately in his ear. Draco watched as Potter grimaced and shot him a look. He knew Potter knew, and he'd kill his mother for telling anyone else. Ginny Potter caught his eye with a raised eyebrow. It seemed she also knew. 

Theo piped up with the question he’d been dreading, “So what’s it like to be forty?”

“Same as any other day,” Draco said with an absent look and a pasted-on grin, “Besides, I’m not forty, I’m eighteen with twenty-two years of experience.”

“You don’t look a day over thirty-nine.” Blaise quipped with a sly grin. 

“Thanks ever so. Do remember it comes to us all and I remind you your turn will be in a few months.” Draco retorted. “I do wonder when you lot will ever stop winding me up. Pansy, I know you and Nott married last week, it took you long enough. Do you think Zabini has ever been discrete in his life, you’d be better off informing the Prophet." He spoke as he stood on his toes and watched Hermione move to speak to other guests in the distance and then lost sight of her again. 

"You ruin our fun!" Pansy slapped his arm and kissed his cheeks. She wandered over to Theo, caressing his face. "It's taken too long for us to realise what was between us but we’re in love now and that’s all that counts." 

Draco took her hand and squeezed, "He'll do for your third husband, even if you are both a pair of lovesick morons." Kissing her head, he shook Theo's hand, congratulating him sincerely as his eyes caught the brunette in the midnight blue party dress once more. "Excuse me." He wandered through the crowd searching for Hermione. 

The others chuckled and carried on their conversation without him, noticing he wasn’t with them mentally. He looked over the heads of the guests in search of his wife, it was one of the benefits of being tall, but not so much when his wife was much shorter; or vertically challenged, as she might say. People were flooding into the garden, enjoying the treats laid out on tables as his mother chatted to several older witches but mainly wizards, moving them to the rose garden and pointing out her prized roses. She seemed to spend most time beside a tall attractive older wizard with long brown hair who made her laugh. He wondered if he might need to keep an eye on them as they seemed far too friendly but decided against it. His mother had been a widow for almost twenty years, she deserved a little happiness, even if it was a flirtation which might not lead anywhere, besides, the Malfoy reputation, although very much repaired still had an air of foreboding when mentioned. He doubted anyone would attempt to court his mother without being serious with his intentions. 

A flash of curly brunette hair caught his eye within the crowd. Now was the time to capture his wife and tell her the truth, he couldn't leave it any longer. She was chatting with Molly and Arthur Weasley and he headed that way, watching in disbelief as she once again saw him, made her apologies, and darted away from him. What the bloody hell was going on, he wondered, as his gift vibrated urgently in his pocket. "Is it still alright for you to take Cassie and the other children back to the house now?" He smiled as he reached the elder Weasleys and Molly drew him into a bear hug. 

"Of course, they're all my grandchildren, even if they're not direct family, you know that." She grasped Arthur’s upper arm before heading off like a muggle Sargent Major as she rounded up the children. 

George Weasley shouldered him with a wink. "You old dog." He clapped Draco's shoulder, "Taking her off on a dirty weekend and only telling the love of your life that you're doing it tonight in front of a crowd of folk. Rather you than me." He grinned. 

"You say that but she's been running away from me all night and I don't know why." Draco slugged another glass of champagne, leaving George shaking his head with a chuckle as Draco headed for the stage his mother had organised to be set up for him. 

He strode up the steps, placing his wand on his throat as he cast a sonorous charm. "Good evening everyone and thank you for joining us. I have an announcement. My wife and I are leaving now, and I apologise. It's my fortieth birthday and I’ve made the most amazing plans for us." He finally spotted her in the crowd and their eyes met. "Do enjoy yourselves and stay as long as you like, but afraid I'm taking my wife away now, so if she would do me the honour of taking my hand, we'll head off to our destination...Hermione?" He called out. 

Hermione rushed back into the house as soon as she saw Draco take the stage. She couldn't bear it when the Slytherins clapped him on the back and Pansy kissed him. She knew it, it would always be his first who he went back to. Her polar opposite, a pureblood woman who'd already married twice with no offspring and two fortunes gained. She'd always wondered if Pansy had gotten over her first love, she was always hanging over him at Hogwarts. Of course, she'd never been jealous of her back then, in fact, she'd never thought of Draco as a potential boyfriend back then.

"Hermione?" She heard his voice echo once more over the grounds. She poured a glass of whiskey from a crystal decanter and baulked at its acrid taste. One thing was for certain, she wasn't going to privy to her public shaming. She sat on a stool at a high table. 

"Hermione?" A familiar voice called. 

Her name seemed rather popular that night and she turned to see Ron standing in the doorway. 

"Are you alright? You know the ferret is asking for you. He's standing on the stage waiting for you." 

She shot him a look. He was stating the obvious. 

Look," he moved closer and placed a hand on his shoulder, sitting in a stool beside her, "you know I hated the fact you married him, but you're my best friend and he's standing on stage asking for you after twenty years of marriage. You love him and though it disturbs me to say it, you've always been good together. I came here as I was wondering if there's a reason you're just going to leave him standing there?" He shrugged. "I know I wouldn't want to be in his shoes."

"Ron, I can't allow him to make a fool of me." She poured another splash into the tumbler, knocking it back. 

"It looks more like he’s the one being made the fool of. Years ago, that would have made me incredibly happy.” He snorted, “I've known you a long time and I can see when somethings wrong. You hardly drink, and when you do it usually has to taste of fruit." He took the glass from her hand and placed it on the table. "Tell me what's wrong or I'll get Harry." His tone was low, and he seemed annoyed that she wouldn’t confide in him. 

She stood up with a huff and swiftly sat down with a thump on an antique chair. "He's cheating on me." 

Ron's brow furrowed in confusion. "I don't think so. Lavender was only commenting on how he never takes his eyes off you, or Scorp and his family. I've never seen him look at another woman during the whole time you've been together. Harry told me he wouldn't stop me punching him if he cheated on you. Do I need to do it now?" He looked at his drink, almost like he didn't want to do it but would if he had to.

"It's Pansy." She toyed with the diamantes on the waistband of her corset. 

He snorted. "Have you lost all the common sense you once had? Merlin, I’m a man of few words nowadays but you know I can’t keep my mouth shut when it comes to the happiness of my best friends.” He took a deep breath, “I love you but you're an idiot, Hermione." He fully expected her to hit him. It was a habit she’d never grown out of where he and Harry were concerned. 

Her head shot up and she met the bright blue eyes of one of her oldest friends. Draco called desperately to her for the fourth time. 

"What are you even saying? Merlin’s cock, the ferret would never want anyone else.... Go to him, you idiot." He flicked his wrist as he hugged her quickly. 

Hermione dropped a hasty kiss on his head, taking off into a run outside between the now silent crowd who watched her embarrassed husband on the stage. Had she made a mistake? She didn’t think so, but she knew this wasn’t the time or the place to leave Draco waiting for her. 

"I have no idea how those two are still together." Ron poured himself a drink and went to stand on the patio beyond the door, waiting for things to work out. Twenty years after the war and with Lavender’s baking, he didn't think he was fit enough to fight Malfoy if it didn’t.

"I'm sorry...so sorry...I had to use the l—sorry." Hermione finally made it to the stage, eyes darting quickly away from Draco’s steely gaze, her glittering skirts gathered in her hands as she climbed the steps. 

Draco cleared his throat, as she eventually arrived beside him. "My birthday present is one I've given to myself and my wife..." His eyes flicked to Weasley, who was giving him the thumbs up from the patio. He clenched his fists jealously, noticing where she'd come from and who she’d been with. "My wife and I will be leaving you to enjoy an excellent night while we love birds go off on our second honeymoon." He said love birds with a mocking tone. 

His eyes were dark as he lifted her hand to kiss her knuckles. "We bid you goodnight, please, do enjoy yourselves." He placed the portkey into Hermione's hand, a set of ruby and diamond pear drop earrings. 

Concerned, Scorpius rushed up onto the stage, trying to catch them both before they left. He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders when they'd already gone. "Well, you heard what they said." He waved his hands to bid the crowd to continue. "Let them sort it out themselves, eat, drink and all that stuff." Their son announced, hoping his parents weren’t going to fight. It was very rare for them to do so, but this time he instantly recognised the signs.   
.......

"How dare you!" Hermione grasped his collar as they landed, not taking in their surroundings as they staggered from the effects of the portkey. 

"How dare I?" Draco threw his hands above his head, "what about the plan I had for us to come to Santorini, only to watch you leave the house after doing god knows what with Weasley!" 

"W-what? How could you even suggest...he's my best friend!" She stuttered in exasperation. 

"Yeah, but I always thought he wanted you once he knew I had you." Draco spat venomously. 

"I'm nobody's possession, not yours, not his, not anyone's." She began taking off her jewellery, slamming her bracelet on a side table. "And if we’re talking about possessions, we all know who you belong to." 

He looked bewildered, his eyes on the bracelet, "What the bloody hell are you talking about, princess?" 

"Oh, I might be your princess, but she's your Slytherin Queen! It’s always been her. I don't know why I didn't see it before." She moved to the drinks tray set in the lounge of the suite. Pouring herself a drink, she vaguely noted the suite was whitewashed with cool linen drapes and comfortable cream seating. She sat on the edge of a sofa hesitantly, drinking a glass of Assytrinko wine down in one go. 

"What are you talking about, you crazy witch?"

"Huh, I'm crazy. You've been with her, you kissed her like you care about her." She snapped, waving her glass at him. 

"I do care about her, but only in the same way you care about Potter and Weasley, she's one of my best friends too! Salazar's hairy bollocks, she eloped and married Nott last week!" He slammed his hand on the driftwood dining table. "I'm not sure you pay any attention to what's going on around you, Hermione. After twenty years of marriage, I find myself exasperated by the fact you could think I could ever want someone else." He rarely lost his temper, especially with Hermione, but he'd worked so hard to make this time away a good time for them, it angered him that she was accusing him of something he'd never do. Not to her. Not ever. 

She regretted her accusation instantly, but she was still unsettled. "Then what have you been doing this week? You've been avoiding me and coming home at all hours." She felt if she clutched the glass in her hand any harder it might shatter. "If you have someone else... a m-mistress, then do me the courtesy of informing me so I can avoid waiting up for you when you visit her bed, or so I can move into another room altogether." She tried to be calm but found herself slamming the glass on the table before her, standing and heaving a sob, barely registering his bewildered cry of "What?" as she placed her hand over her mouth and rushed out onto the balcony. 

Tears swam in her eyes as she took in the darkened view, the volcano barely a mountainous shadow in the distance under a large, low moon. A shooting star fell from the night sky and then another. She sniffed, wiping at her eyes. She hadn't the heart to make a wish. Losing him would break her, and the resolve she'd found to get on with life since the war ended. It was always there and being beside him always gave her the strength to carry on. Hermione knew she couldn't spend her later years alone waiting for him to show her a shred of affection, while he reserved everything meant for her and gifted it to some other witch. She would be a laughingstock in her own mind as well as everyone else's. 

'The Golden Girl forgives Death Eater and they wed,' had been one of the kinder headlines about them in the Prophet when they first married. If they found out Draco was being unfaithful, they would rip her reputation to pieces and blame her for trusting him, this time she would expect the headline to be, 'I told you so'.

Hermione's face was lit up by the golden lights from the vast infinity pool below. She was crying and he had no real idea what any of this was about. He hesitated, worried that this was about him. Was she unhappy because of something he'd done? She had already mentioned Pansy and a non-existent mistress, and he felt sickened by the thought she believed he would want anyone but her. She was the most beautiful woman at the party, and she became more beautiful as she aged. He worshipped every part of her, her scars from the war, the stretch marks from the birth of their son, even the lines he barely noticed around her eyes because usually her beautiful browns were filled with happiness and laughter as they bickered and teased one another. He couldn't understand why she was accusing him of something like this when all he wanted was for them to enjoy some rare time away on their own. 

He leaned against the doorway and crossed his arms, taking a deep, calming lungful of warm Grecian air, salted with the sweet tang of the Aegean Sea. He'd been looking forward to this for months. It was a celebration he'd been planning since Hermione's birthday back in September and over the past few days he'd been away, arranging surprises for them both, that was all he’d done. Now, leaving his annual party and celebrating their birthdays with a second honeymoon in this way seemed like a terribly bad idea. It had unsettled her and by comparison, him. 

"Are you going to tell me what this is all about because I feel like I’ve done nothing to warrant this." He tried to speak calmly, but there was an edge to his voice, he was terrified he might lose her. Perhaps she was fed up with him or perhaps he'd changed and hadn't realised? He wracked his brains to think of anything he'd done that could be deemed inappropriate. He came up with nothing. "Hermione, please." 

"I understand I'm getting old." She began. 

"But, aren't we both, it's...?" He began.

Hermione held up her hand without looking at him. "Please let me finish, I would like to have my say. That way we'll both know where we stand." She hugged herself, rubbing her hands against her upper arms. "As I said, I understand I'm getting old and I'm not the girl I once was." She dipped her head, peering at her feet, her gown shimmering in the low light. "I want you to be honest with me when you take on a younger lover."

He gave a grunt of protest, sighing deeply and clenching his fists to retain control. In all the years they’d been married, this was the worst thing she’d ever said to him. He could feel hot anger burning his belly and threatening to crawl up into his throat. He could hardly believe his ears. 

"But, if you do,” she continued, “I don't want to hear the details. I don't want you to be seen, I want nothing to ruin our family's happiness and nobody else is to know. I want there to continue to be no secrets between us, I won't make you feel ashamed, I love you too much to make you suffer. I want you to be happy, that's all I've ever wanted." 

Draco felt like his legs were going to give out. Some sodding birthday this had turned out to be. If Hermione Malfoy thought he would give her up without a fight, she had another think coming.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We left Draco and Hermione in Santorini, following Hermione's accusation.  
> I had a few questions about their age in this fic, many feeling perhaps I was going overboard with making them feel old. In this fic the focus on feeling old has mainly been Hermione's. The idea is perhaps that she is feeling older because 40 is a milestone in the muggle world. Draco doesn't seem to feel too bothered about his 40th as of course witches and wizards age at a different rate. Also this chapter explains a little more about why Scorpius and Anika were young when Cassie was born. It was my intention to portray a lifechanging time in D and H's marriage and how they deal with it. It's been great to hear from those who commented and I'm always happy to clear up any questions you have.  
> I edited my board as I wasn't happy with it, I hope you like it.   
> Enjoy the final chapter my sweets.

"I love you but you're an absolute idiot." He began as he listened to her pitiful speech, stepping closer. 

"Pardon?" She turned her fire-filled eyes on his. Ron had said the same thing and she was tired of it. She was not stupid by any means.

He half expected her hair to begin to fly above her head, like medusa, as her magic took offence at him speaking to her in that way. He knew she had a dark side when she was angry, just like he did. 

"Seriously, for someone so bloody intelligent, you can act like a total fool, I'd forgotten you became so single-minded when you’re angry as it hasn’t happened for such a long time. I thought we'd these stupid misunderstandings back in our first year of marriage when you tried to convince me I'd made a mistake. Then, I thought was the one who thought I should be convincing you I wasn’t worthy of you, but I was too selfish to allow myself to tell you." He huffed as he stepped forward into the crystalline light from the pool below. "I’ve been standing here while you feel sorry for yourself, been privy to your own personal Malfoy gala for the pitiful, and now it's my time to speak. There is nobody else for me, never was, there never will be. Honestly, I can't say your lack of faith in me doesn't hurt, because it does, the fact you didn’t trust me feels like a crucio to my soul, Hermione." He gulped. 

Hermione let out a sob as she watched his Adam's apple bob and his eyes blink angrily. 

He retained some semblance of composure and continued. "I love you, and I have to ask why you felt you couldn’t tell me how you were feeling? Have I become so difficult to talk to?" Draco murmured, his resolve failing as he hadn't been close to his wife for days. All he wanted was to pull her into his arms, but he wasn’t sure she would want that right now. He stared out into the distance, feeling his hair unravel from his product and blow in the breeze. He watched the waves lap against the white sand of the beach below, where he'd hoped to make love on to her that night when he’s first organised the trip. 

"You haven't, it's just I couldn't tell you, not once I thought you’d been unfaithful. I've been feeling so sorry for myself, thinking I wasn't good enough for you anymore, that my body is spoiled and ruined. I just couldn't bear to admit how I was feeling." She finally told him the truth, anxiously pulling on a lock of her hair. 

"So, my love, my only one," he dared to move closer, massaging her hips and leaning down to settle his chin on her shoulder, "you’ve been suffering alone, knowing we made an agreement when our son was born that we'd never keep anything from each other?" 

She nodded still looking out over the balcony, drawing deep gulps of air as she tried to calm her hammering heart. She knew the very moment they'd made that pact, a day when they’d found themselves fighting over something utterly ridiculous. It was an agreement they had followed religiously but then it had fallen by the wayside when Scorpius left the family home. It wasn't that they lied to each other, more that they just didn't tell each other what was on their mind anymore. 

Draco gently led her back into the lounge by the hand, his thumb smoothing across her palm. She sat down on the sofa once more. "You've had an emotional wobble and you’ve been reassessing your part in our lives, I understand that. Our situation changed when Scorpius left and, as he’s still so young, we’re both struggling to come to terms with it. As you might remember, it was his decision to leave home when Anika fell pregnant, because you made him strong and protective and you bought him up to know his own mind. He wanted to be a father and they both wanted Cassie so much how could we have stood in their way? We can hardly blame them for it when we were only young ourselves when he was born, it was an example we’d already set him. I see now that we’ve thrown ourselves into our work and forgotten how to be there for one another. Look,” He sat down on the coffee table before her and grasped her hands in his, “we're entering life’s next chapter. One where it'll be mainly just us, it’s been three years since he left and now it’s time for us to start living again, to find a way back to each other." 

"I think I've just been worried that you won't want me anymore now I've served my purpose." 

"Your purpose? Our purpose is to belong to each other, to love each other until we part at death. I don't remember any mention of a date when you or I had served our purpose." He reached out to caress her cheek. 

"We've raised our son, and we have our careers, I didn’t know if I could be enough for you anymore. I’ve haven’t known myself as this person since I was a teenager, I’m not sure how to be her anymore."

"Are you kidding? I've been waiting for years to have you to myself, to be able to shag you all over the Manor.” He chuckled as she blushed, even after twenty years it was adorable how she did that. “I've been thinking of asking if you'd consider going part-time or even taking a sabbatical so we can travel more and see the world. My business can run without me if I get the right people in. We could hire a desert island and sequester ourselves away from the world. You could read to your heart's content or even write a book on your experiences, hell, perhaps I could too. We have the money, why not use it? You've given so much of yourself to the school and your charities, I'd like some time to spoil you, is that wrong of me?" 

Hermione began to feel excited at the prospect, she couldn't remember the last time she'd read for pleasure and she had a list of hundreds of books—muggle and magical— she wanted to read. To lay on a tropical beach and wile away the hours sunbathing, eating wonderful food and making love under the stars with her husband was a tempting thought. Perhaps she was overworked, and this was exactly what she needed, to reconnect with Draco and eradicate the feeling of separation she'd been feeling. It was possible to take a step back and allow her deputy head to take on more responsibility, for a time at least.

Smoothing his other hand down her arm he spoke again. "I'd like you to listen to me and stop the never-ending cogs of your beautiful brain turning." He cupped her face, thumbing away the tears on her damp cheeks, "You and I, we're one, we became one the day we decided to be together. I love you for more than your body...although," he tongued his upper canine and moved one hand to run a finger across the mounds of flesh spilling over the top of her dress, dipping his forefinger into the cleft between her breasts and pulling her towards him as he peered down and took in the view, "you've always had a wonderful pair of tits and your body is hot, princess, I don’t why you’d think otherwise." He cocked his head and smirked, meeting her eyes. 

"We won't be young forever." She gave him a watery smile, but she knew her husband would likely remain sexy until his dying day and he always would be to her, even if he aged. He gave a very convincing argument to indicate he felt the same about her. 

"You're amazing, my Gryffindor princess, you've enriched my life in a way no other could have, and I will love you until the day I die." He dropped sweet kisses on her eyelids. "Never doubt me, my love, not when you see me talk to other witches, nor when they flirt with me. I'm yours and yours alone, my only sweetheart, my wife. I've never been prouder than tonight, seeing you in this magnificent gown." He knew she needed reminding of how lovely she was. "Every eye was on you, as always, including mine. You are exquisite, and I don't believe either of us will need to worry about growing old for some time. Aren't we magical? Most magic folk only enter middle-age around seventy." He chuckled, kissing her lips as she flung herself into his arms. He kissed her crown and trailed his fingers down her upper spine, massaging the place between her shoulder blades where she always held the most tension. 

"I'm sorry, so very sorry." She pushed back a little and ran her fingers through his hair like she'd done thousands of times since they first fell in love. 

He felt her nails lightly scratch his scalp in the way she knew he loved and it  
was all too much. He was angry and horny and desperate for her all at once, he lifted her and turned her against the wall. She gasped as he used his knee to kick her legs open and she reached back for his hip as he lifted her skirt, roughly pulling her knickers aside. 

“One time hard and fast.” He kissed a line up the nape of her neck. 

“Oh, Godrick, yes.” She blurted, her lower stomach blooming with pleasure. 

His fingers nudged her knickers aside. “Fuck, you’re always so wet for me.” She almost came as his experienced fingers circled her clit. "Tell me you want me." He growled.

"I always want you...” He barely waited for her reply before spearing her on his cock. “Oh…Oh, Draco..." 

……

Flashback to 1999

It was a few months after they first met again at the Manor when Draco first knew they were politely dancing around each other every time they met. It was almost comical, considering the relationship they’d had a school and what had happened in his house during the war. The conversation was stilted, awkward like neither knew quite what to say. But, what wasn’t covered by conversation was replaced by body language neither could ignore. They gravitated towards each other during conversations and Draco often had to check himself before he reached for her, to touch her hair or clasp her fingers to pull her closer. Something strange had developed between them, strange and wonderful, for the two would never have been if not for the war, Draco supposed. 

Hermione constantly blushed in his presence, laughing, and yammering on as if her tongue were on fire and only talking ninety to the dozen could extinguish it. She constantly tucked her hair behind her ear and nibbled on her lower lip, barely meeting his eye. She fingered teacup handles in a most alluring way and often touched her ear lobe, subtle signs of flirtation if one cared to look, and he did care— he cared very much. He found himself almost tongue-tied whenever she arrived and continually had the urge to reach out and ease her teeth away from her lower lip with his thumb or to capture her excited words with his lips and swallow them down so he might feel the same way she did. Because that nervous feeling, the feeling like he was on the cusp of something bigger caused his stomach to knot and his heart to jackhammer. 

As time moved on, Hermione was invited for afternoon tea and dinner several times a week by his mother. One night, his mother retired before dessert complaining of a headache. Hermione fussed but his mother said she just needed an early night. Watching her with his mother made him realise for the first time he'd fallen in love with the kind, warm and funny woman. This was further reinforced when she came to sit by his side when the chocolate and pistachio domes were served. 

"I feel like I'm miles away from you down there,” she indicated to the other end of the table, “it seems silly to be formal and sit so far apart. If we were in the same house at Hogwarts, we'd be sitting beside each other on a bench." She pulled her chair closer, leaning over to knock her shoulder against his before picking up her napkin and smoothing it over her lap. She wore a red belted dress with a low cut, yet demure, ruffled neckline, it met her mid-thigh. Draco knew exactly where because he'd investigated its length very carefully, his eyes clocking her black high heels and drifting up firm, smooth and tanned legs when she’d arrived. Her hair was no longer frizzy and cascaded down her back in shiny curls, accented with chestnut and gold lowlights, weighted by its length. She wore some makeup, not overly done, just something which brought out her natural features and her eyes and lips seemed more enticing than usual. She hadn't noticed him gawking as she was talking to his mother but he was sure he saw his mother smirk as he cocked his head and perused her body. 

Under his mother’s gaze, he cleared his throat and escorted them both to their seats, pulling out each woman’s chair in a gentlemanly manner. Hermione had taken to dressing for dinner and he was almost certain his mother had something to do with it, although her outfits were more muggle than something one might find in Madam Malkins. Still, they were nothing short of spectacular — as she was in them. 

A buzz of magical electricity worked the air between them, forming and un-forming like a murmuration of birds. He could almost feel the touch of her thigh even though it was a few inches from his. His hands were clenched around the napkin on his lap as he tried to stop himself from reaching out to touch her. If he let the napkin drop and spread his hands across his lap, he could meet her thigh with his little finger. 

Her aroma permeated his senses, vanilla and coconut, somewhere between sweet and savoury, and his tongue itched to taste her, to pull her onto his lap and lathe from the valley of her breasts to her jawline. He wondered how he ever thought she was less than perfect, that he was somehow better than her because she was magnificent. Even at school she was pretty, he couldn't help but notice that and he'd questioned a lot of things about his life since he'd escaped Azkaban by the skin of his teeth, Hermione being only one of them. 

He had found himself even more surprised by his mother’s friendship with the girl as he'd half expected Potter to be the one who visited for tea. It seemed he was too busy being hailed as the saviour of the wizarding world to visit the woman who'd risked her life to save him from death, although, Draco had to grant Potter with some begrudging respect, as the wizard owled with his news and sent his mother fresh flowers regularly. He had, of course, saved them both with his testimony and for that alone, he deserved sincere appreciation. 

Regardless of Potter being the champion, Hermione seemed to be the only one with the guts to strike up a friendship with a Death Eaters wife and son. He hastened to add that the son was also a card-carrying member of the Death Eater brigade, thanks to the tattoo he never wanted. To return to the place she was tortured must have been excruciating for her and he admired her resilience, she walked into the Manor without flinching, something even he often found difficult to do and he lived there. He'd listened in on his mother’s profuse apologies during their first tea together and when Hermione had been asked how she found the strength to return to the Manor, she'd asked to see the room once more. 

Draco had listened as his mother sobbed and peeked into the dining to find them both hugging. 

"I can return here because if I allow my life to be ruled by the actions of one cruel witch then I will never be myself again. This is the place it happened, but that doesn't mean I can't return to make happier memories here. Just as you can. You can overwrite the darkness by bringing back the light." Hermione had said. 

It took his breath away. He could safely say, that was the moment he'd changed his mind about Hermione Granger. She’d found it in her heart to forgive and try to forget. Eventually, it was her light which overwrote the history of the place, and it began that day. 

She dug her spoon in and tasted the chocolate dome, groaning and as she took a bite. "Malfoy, you've got to try this." 

He felt momentarily alarmed when she grabbed his spoon and dug it into his sweet, holding the dripping spoon at his mouth. She sensually licked a drop of chocolate from the corner of her mouth and he threw caution to the magic of the north, south, east and west. Taking the spoon from her hand and letting it clatter to the floor, he placed his hands on either side her face and kissed her. She tasted of sweet, salty chocolate and let out the most delightful mewl as his tongue met hers. The sound set him on fire, and he deepened the kiss, cupping her head with one hand as he pulled her sideways onto his lap with the other. The silk of her dress slid under his fingers as he clasped her thigh to stop her from falling. 

She stopped them by placing her hand against his chest, panting, her pupils dilated. "Malfoy, are you sure about this?" 

"I've never been surer of anything in my life." He replied, nipping at her lower lip before running his tongue over the plump flesh. "And I'd prefer you called me Draco since you’ve just had your delightful tongue in my mouth." He chuckled. 

"May I touch you?" She asked shyly, toying with the buttons of his shirt. 

His cock hardened at her breathy request. That was the moment he knew he was lost to her, the moment a flickering candle flame became the size of the roar of a dragon. He'd never felt that way about any witch before and the life-changing feeling told him he would likely never feel that way about any other again.

Draco moved quickly, sitting her on the table easing between her legs. He dipped his fingers into the chocolate pudding and held them against her lips. She darted out her tongue and lapped at his fingers before suckling them into her mouth, her eyes on him the entire time as she ran her hands down his chest, opening buttons and caressing his skin, until she reached his waistband, fondling his hardened length through his trousers. This witch was going to the death of him, he just knew it. "Fuck." Was all he could find the faculties to say. 

That was the beginning, and he knew right then, it would never end. 

.....

Present Time

It felt so good to have Draco's hands on her again he knew how to touch her in just the right way to cause her to convulse in his arms. A bead of sweat ran down between the valley of her breasts as he ploughed into her. She felt his tongue trail along her sternum, following her first orgasm, lapping it up her perspiration as he latched onto her nipple, tonguing it in a way that made her want to lose her mind again. She rolled her hips as his cock brushed her clit over and over. He had her on the kitchen counter of the suite, pistoning into her, her legs over his shoulders and his cock at just at the right height to hit every sweet spot. 

"Tell me you're still mine." He begged, suckling on her neck as his body trembled. "Tell me you'll always be mine." 

She pulled him closer, swearing unintelligibly as she was on the edge once more. "I'm always yours, nobody but yours." She moaned, her hands grappling for his, their fingers entwining as his hips stuttered. 

"Fuck I love you." He cried out as he spent himself inside her, settling his forehead on her chest as he gasped for breath. 

"Is that it?" She giggled. 

He puffed a snort against her neck and almost purred as she ran her fingers through his hair. "Why you little minx! Never, although my refractory period is slightly longer than it was twenty years ago." He snickered, placing kisses along her jaw.

"Can I ask you a question? It's one I should have asked long ago." Her chest heaved a little less now as her breathing returned to normal.

He lifted his head, his blonde hair falling boyishly over his brow. "You can ask me anything." 

"Why do you give me a gift on your birthday?" She smoothed her thumb over his jaw. 

"Hmm," he stood and pulled her to him, sliding to the floor and easing her onto his lap so she was sitting sideways.

She laid her head on his shoulder, curling herself against his chest, letting out a satisfied yawn.

"I thought you knew." He chuckled and hugged her close. "I give you a gift because you made my first and every birthday perfect and because you’re like a gift in yourself, my Hermione." 

She nuzzled into his neck, placing a kiss on his jaw, “I feel the same way.” She sighed contentedly. "So, this is the beginning of another adventure?"

"Indeed, it is, my princess and we’ll embrace it together," he rumbled, lifting her straddle him, "but it can wait. Tonight, you're mine."


End file.
